


Undertones

by AetherAria



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: (sortaaa), Communication, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gentleness, Lizard Kissin' Tuesday (Penumbra Podcast), Multi, Second Citadel (Penumbra Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25426900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AetherAria/pseuds/AetherAria
Summary: Damien speaks his heart, but not always in the ways that Arum expects.
Relationships: Lord Arum/Sir Damien (Penumbra Podcast), Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla (Penumbra Podcast)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 156





	Undertones

**Author's Note:**

> Im big soft. happy LKT!

It takes Arum a while to understand exactly what Damien is doing.

He speaks his heart _frequently_ , of course, and at length, and Arum is always privately a little impressed by how delicate and careful the poet is when he chooses his words for his unplanned monologues. The first time Damien turns that skill upon him with the full force of his romantic feelings unabashedly on display, Arum is genuinely overwhelmed. Overwhelmed enough that he sneers and flares his frill and flees from the room, though he creeps back to the knight with Amaryllis later in the evening and gathers the both of them into his arms, pulls them close enough that when he shares his own affectionate words he can do so in a whisper.

Damien is somewhat less effusive after that, at least when he is speaking directly _to_ Arum, and Arum feels both guilty and grateful for the adjustment.

Damien still has plenty to say, of course, and Arum adores his voice, adores always his words.

_Do not do anything reckless in my absence, my lily_ , and then a peck on the cheek before the knight returns to his Citadel.

_Come to bed. The hour is late, and the work will keep until the dawn_ , and gentle hands just as stubborn as his own to pull him to the bedroom.

_I did not realize how I would miss the song of this place_ , in a murmur, meeting Arum's eyes after a particularly lengthy quest.

_Have either of you actually eaten today?_ accompanied by a gentle frown and a pointed raise of the eyebrow.

Arum listens, when Damien speaks. He does not know how anyone could do otherwise, does not know if it is possible for such a musical tongue to be ignored. In ordinary speech, in song beside Amaryllis, beside himself, in ancient stories into which he breathes new life, in his own new verse- Damien's voice is always dense with deft, layered beauty. Arum listens because it is unthinkable for him not to, and he listens because he loves that voice nearly as much as he loves the one who wields it.

Layered beauty. Sir Damien means the words he says, of course (the poet is an abysmal liar, charmingly and shockingly transparent whenever he attempts the act), but at first Arum only hears the topmost layer.

“Be safe, Lord Arum,” Damien says, his eyes earnest and his tone warm, his hand on the vines of the doorway back to the jungle outside of his Citadel, and Arum-

This time, at last, Arum blinks and the realization dawns.

The knight stares at him, bemused, as Arum's hands flex, as he rattles lightly before he stammers through saying _you had better do the same_ , and then Damien smiles and nods lightly before he slips through and the doorway closes behind him.

_Of course_ , Arum thinks, when his frill has settled and he has gotten his growling back under control, some minutes later. _Of course the poet would find another way to speak his heart_.

He listens even more closely, after that. He listens with more purpose.

Every small gesture, every murmur with a morning kiss, every greeting and parting, every compliment and line of verse-

Damien is speaking his heart with each word, subtle but certain, and Arum feels them at his center, feels them so deeply and vividly that it nearly _hurts_.

"How lucky I am, to wake in such embrace," Damien murmurs against Arum's collarbone, his voice nearly slurred with sleep, and Arum can hear everything beneath the words with such ease that he doesn't think. He doesn't _think_ , he just opens his mouth, purring through his own muddled half-awareness.

"Love you too, honeysuckle."

A pause, during which Damien's breath catches, his heart speeding, and Arum sheds his drowsiness like an old skin, fully awake in the time it takes to blink.

"I- that is-"

Damien shifts in his arms, lifting himself so he can look down at Arum with wide eyes, and then just before Arum can panic properly about spoiling their morning, Damien leans down. His lips are always so warm against Arum's scales, the press of his mouth fervent and fierce, and the whirring worry in Arum's throat dissolves into a purr before it can truly begin.

When Damien pulls back he breathes a laugh, and Arum can feel his smile. "Was I truly so transparent as that, my lily?" he says in a wry murmur, and then he presses his forehead against Arum's. "If I had known I was making you uncomfortable in this way as well-"

"You were doing no such thing," Arum growls, lifting two hands to grip Damien's nightshirt insistently. "You- you were not _transparent_ , it is only that I … I learned, eventually, how to hear what you were _truly_ saying."

Damien's cheeks go hot, flushing darker, and Arum compulsively flicks his tongue out to tickle just beneath his ear.

"Arum-"

"I listen, honeysuckle, when you speak. Perhaps I should have reciprocated sooner, but- but I did not wish to break the spell. You speak so beautifully, even in subtlety, and I did not wish for you to stop."

Damien laughs, both pleased and shy, and then he kisses Arum again. "Perhaps you have not been listening _all_ that well, if you were under the impression that you or anyone else could cause me to hold my tongue."

Arum barks a laugh of his own, then. "I suppose that is fair," he rumbles. "I am glad to hear it as well. I- I have been- I have enjoyed- I adore your every word, honeysuckle. And- and I have been warmed by the words beneath them, as well."

"Ah-" Damien blinks quickly, his eyes gone momentarily bright. "You… oh lily, I only thought- perhaps, if I spoke my heart without… without speaking quite so _boldly_ , quite so directly- perhaps I would avoid spurring your discomfort."

Arum's heart clenches, and he stuffs down his own embarrassment and instead he slips his arms around Damien, pulling him closer. "You are… far sweeter to me than I deserve, honeysuckle," he murmurs, and Damien makes a small noise of protest. "I did not mean to make you think you needed to _stifle_ yourself for my sake. I did, perhaps, require some time to learn to be comfortable with the openness that comes so naturally to you, but… I am sorry that I caused you to… to bury your affection, to obscure it."

"I only wish to- to tell you how loved you are," Damien breathes. "In every possible way, in every phrasing and form, in poems and prose and whisper and shout, in touch, in look, in any way that will reach and comfort you-"

Arum holds him tighter, burying his face in Damien's neck and whirring sharply at the back of his throat. "Far, far sweeter than _anyone_ could deserve," he hisses. "I hear them, honeysuckle. I hear each and every time you speak your heart to me. I hear you." He pulls back, just enough to press their foreheads together again. "I hear you, Damien, and I love you too."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Undertones](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29270340) by [screamingatstars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamingatstars/pseuds/screamingatstars)




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